Dr Scott Clark

Clinical Academic

Adelaide Medical School

Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences

Scott Clark is the Clinical Academic for the University of Adelaide Discipline of Psychiatry based in the Central Adelaide Local Health Network. He coordinates the Adelaide Medical School’s Psychiatry program and is a consultant psychiatrist in the Western Community Mental Health Service. Scott’s research focuses on the use of biomarkers and biotypes in the prediction of medication response and outcomes in psychosis and mood disorders. Scott was awarded the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists Early Career Psychiatrist Award 2017 for his work on the use of simple Bayesian models to combine multimodal clinical and biological data to predict the first psychotic episode.
He is lead investigator for the Trajectories in Response to Aripiprazole Maintena Study (TRAMS) and the Cognition and Patterns of Gene Expression in Chronic Psychosis Associated with Cognitive and General Function as part of the Cognitive and Functional Assessment of Psychosis Staging Study (CoFAPSS), the Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation and Electrophysiology in Mood and Psychosis Study (TEMAPS) and an investigator for the Genomics of ECT International Consortium (GenECT-IC). He is a collaborator with the international Consortium for Lithium Genetics (COnLiGen).
Scott is also the Chair of the South Australian Clozapine Steering Group and has lead the introduction of a state-wide monitoring system for the use of the high risk antipsychotic clozapine. He is a senior investigator for the Detection of Clozapine Induced Myocarditis in Inpatient Mental Health Unit Prior and Post Implementation of a State-wide Monitoring Protocol, The Toxic Rise of Plasma Clozapine Levels Related to Infections or Inflammatory Reactions and its Management in Hospitalised Patients and The Characterisation of Non-Psychiatric Admissions During the First Two Years After Commencement of Clozapine studies.

Clark, S. R., & Pradhan, M. (2000). A Comparison Of A Paper-Based Clinical Guideline And A Decision Support System For The Management of Community Acquired Pneumonia.. In M. Pradhan (Ed.), HIC 2000: Proceedings. Adelaide.

RANZCP Abstracts (2018). Poster session presented at the meeting of Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry.DOI

2018

O’Donaghue, B., Siskind, D., Warren, N., & Clark, S. R. (2018). Clozapine: when to start, how to augment and guidelines for management. Poster session presented at the meeting of Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry. Auckland.DOI

Clark, S. R. (2017). Early Career Psychiatrist Award Presentation: Multimodal prediction of the first psychotic episode – improving on clinical judgement. Poster session presented at the meeting of Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists Congress 2017. Adelaide.

Clark, S. R. (2016). The double edge sword. A workshop on the quality and safe use of clozapine: Adverse events, monitoring and shared care. Poster session presented at the meeting of International RANZCP Congress of Psychiatry. Hong Kong.

Clark, S. R. (2013). Rural Intermediate Care in South Australia: a perspective on the first 12 months.. Poster session presented at the meeting of 12th National Rural Health Conference. Adelaide.

2012

Clark, S. R., & Wilton, L. (2012). Clozapine: A Statewide Systems Approach to Improving the Quality of Care.. Poster session presented at the meeting of Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists’ Congress. Hobart.

2012

Clark, S. R., & Mosler, D. (2012). The Specialist Training Program in the South Australian Distance Consultation Service.. Poster session presented at the meeting of Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatry Congress. Hobart.

In his role as Clinical Academic for the Discipline of Psychiatry Scott coordinates the Adelaide Medical School’s year 4 Psychiatry program and the integration of the current course across year levels. At the centre of this teaching is a structured approach to assessment, formulation and management of mental illness. This model incorporates bio-psycho-socio-cultural aspects of history taking, mental state, and physical health assessment, and teaches the integration of this complex data into valid and efficient diagnostic formulation and risk assessment, leading to realistically staged, evidence-based management planning that considers complex clinical service multidisciplinary contexts. The model also provides a framework for the development of efficient case presentation and can be assessed at more advanced levels by using short case vivas to explore the student’s knowledge base, reasoning and clinical decision-making capacity. Across undergraduate teaching there is a progression from theory to practice via a balance of didactic and problem-based learning, and small group discovery experiences, allowing students to develop skills in the formulation and exploration of clinical questions and hypotheses, identifying critical gaps in knowledge and working individually and in teams toward shared goals.

​​​​​​​Scott also lectures into the South Australian Psychiatry Branch Training Committee (SAPBTC) program and The Adelaide Pre-vocational Psychiatry Program (TAPPP) and is Convenor of the Annual SA Mental Health Service Clozapine Training Program. Scott also supervises PhD, Honours and medical student research projects as well as Psychiatry Registrar Scholarly projects.